Should've been me || Katara x OC

nine || cherish this

          Katara was gone when I woke that morning. There's a certain feeling you get when you wake up, when your mind wakes up. All my memories rush to my brain and my eyes sting whilst my stomach drops. I can feel the absence of her touch. Pushing myself out of bed, I walk over to the small dressing table to find a handwritten note.

good morning!
Sorry I couldn't stick around,
meet me on the bridge at six?

Katara

          Six. It seems so far away. How many hours will I waste away in this room for. No, I won't. Surely there's going to be something I can do around here. I slip on the familiar earth kingdom clothes and a water tribe coat, god this place is cold. I slip out of the room, check Aang and Sokka's to see if they're there. Empty. I feel eleven again, alone in a palace, with nothing to do. What was it that I did after Zuko left? kazan was already dead, Azula and I had tethered down the remnants of any friendship, mother was gone and father... father was just father. I was alone with nothing but the books in the library and my firebending training. Books! That's it, this place has got to have some kind of library, right?

          I follow hallway after hallway, stairway after stairway. I haven't even bumped into anyone yet. How on earth is this place so empty? I spot a window and stretch up on my tiptoes to see out of it. This city is complete ice, I still don't understand how anyone could want to live somewhere this cold!

          'Are you all right, sir?' someone says behind me.

          it's miss.

          'I was just wondering, is there any kind of library here?' I ask, this person looks like they serve the chief and his family, if not, I guess they might still know.

          'Oh yes, there's the royal library on the third floor, I'm sure, as a friend of the avatar, you'd be welcome to use it!' They say, smiling.

          I thank them before wandering off again. Third floor. I don't even know what floor i'm on! After having to stop another person and ask for directions, I somehow make it.

          The day flies past from my corner of the library. It was big, and I took as many books as I could manage, carrying them to a comfortable chair and settling down for the day. One book I picked up in particular strikes my attention, one on fire nation history. It's all incorrect, but then again, maybe what I know is incorrect.

          Thinking about home brings back memories of my first real friend. Kazan. His father was a servant, so Kazan ultimately would have met the same fate. I was naïve and innocent. We would race along the corridors together, play in the gardens. But one day, we found a room that was off-limits. It was a year before Zuko left, so I was ten. I thought it would be funny if we went in together. Kazan didn't want to, but I persuaded him. But past that door was so many things. Things I wasn't supposed to see.

         But my father found us in there.

          And they took his life, along with his fathers.

           I never forgave myself after that day. It was the first time I realised happiness was temporary, that it was something you had to cherish. Because gradually, I lost everything else after Kazan died.

          I wait for the clock to strike half five before getting up. I place every book I found back in the original places before making my way to the bridge. I know exactly which one she means, because she pointed it out on the way here.

          I don't arrive there long before she does. She calls my name as she runs towards me. And she doesn't stop, she races up and hugs me tight, almost toppling us both over. The sun is starting to set now, casting the blue city in an orange light.

          'What's got you so happy?' I chuckle.

         'You'll never believe what happened today, Arya!' Katara says. She explains all about the water bending teacher who wouldn't teach her because she was a girl. About the healing teacher who explained to her about her mothers necklace and how her grandmother was from the North. And how she battled Paku and beat him and how she found out he was engaged to her grandmother.

           'Woah,' I say, shocked. 'You've had a busy day then?'

         'I'm exhausted!' She says, but she's still smiling. 'What about you?'

           'I spent the day in the library,' I say. 'I was trying to piece some truth into the fire nation history I thought I knew. I wasn't very successful, though.'

          'I'm sure you'll figure it out! You're super smart, so it should be easy,' she says.

          I smile. 'You know, I've never met anyone like you before.'

          'What's that supposed to mean?' She says, no venom in her voice, just curiosity.

           'You always know the right thing to do,' I say.

          She laughs. 'I don't really.' She smiles with her eyes, blushing and looking down.

          This is too perfect. I can feel it with every step upwards we take, the bigger this fall will be. It doesn't matter what she does, I can't keep it from her anymore.

          'Katara, there's something I need to tell-' I say, interrupted when she places her lips on mine. I melt into her kiss, her warm lips Everything inside me is screaming. But I know this is what I wanted, she's the most perfect person ever. If I could freeze this moment and live in it forever, I would. I want to cherish this.

          She pulls away, and I can finally look into her eyes again, she looks nervous, but she's smiling. I can only answer her with my biggest smile back. Which is all that needs to be said.

          All of a sudden, her smile drops and her face turns into fear.

          'What's wrong?' I say instinctively. Then I see what she's looking at. The black snow falling down over the Northern tribe. 'What is this? Katara?'

          She's somewhere else. Her eyes are glossy. 'It snowed like this the day my mother died.' She says. And the reality of it all kicks in.

          The Fire Nation is here.

          'The Fire Nation is here, Arya.'